


Angel

by CJ_fics



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Time Travel, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 12:22:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2850719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_fics/pseuds/CJ_fics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zatanna sends Oliver back in time for something important.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Angel

_Remember,_ he reminds himself, _no one can know who you are and what you’ve done here._  
  
All Zatanna told him was that he needed to be sent twenty-four years back in time to rescue a little girl who had been kidnapped. The details were sparse: Eli Willard had kidnapped a three-year old girl and was holding her hostage at a broken down shack just off the Vegas strip. Zatanna was kind enough to not only use one of her Time Orbs to have him back in time but to place him a block away from the shack.   
  
Oliver wouldn’t have agreed to do this when the sorceress came to him with the strange request, if Zatanna hadn’t told him that his involvement in this kidnapping was crucial to his crusade in Starling City. If he was perfectly honest with himself, he took the idea of time traveling with a lot of doubt. But he had begrudgingly agreed, mostly to humour Zatanna, and because she called on that one favour he owed her. He had met the magician in Hong Kong, and she was instrumental in him being set free from Amanda Waller’s clutches. Something about putting the A.R.G.U.S. leader is some sort of trance that had her forgetting for a few months that she had an unwilling but highly-skilled and useful operative, giving Oliver enough time to hide himself from A.R.G.U.S. by heading back to Lian Yu.  
  
So he owed Zatanna. And now he was in October 27, 1990. Twenty-four years to the day that he left the present time in Starling City.  
  
He headed for the location, the rundown shack, to rescue the little girl, making sure that the ski cap he had on was secured and ready to cover his face.  
  
As he got nearer to the shack, he could hear Sonic Youth’s Dirty Boots playing loudly from inside while the unmistakable sound of a crying and upset toddler accompanied it. The nearest house to the shack was two blocks away, making it a perfect place to hide a kid (or anyone, for that matter, Oliver thinks) as no one would be able to hear the racket. The location of the shack made it possible to whoever was inside to easily spot anyone heading for it.

 _Well,_ Oliver thinks, _anyone who was not trained for stealth._  
  
He circles the shack, looking for an alternative entry point to it so he could maintain the element of surprise. He could still hear the little girl screaming her heart out, and he felt for her. She must be so scared right now. He could also hear the guy inside — Willard, he assumes — screaming at the girl and at someone else, making threats. _If you don’t come, I’ll kill her, you understand?!?! We could be together if it wasn’t for her! Damn useless brat!_  
  
When Oliver heard the sounds of the toddler being choked, he knew he had to make his move. He quickly sneaks in from behind the back windows and points his bow and arrow on Willard, who was holding the toddler by neck and screaming, “Stop it! Stop it! I will kill you, if you don’t stop!” The young child was unconscious. Oliver hoped that he was not too late.  
  
"Eli Willard," Oliver says, his arrow ready, "Hand over the child."  
  
Willard turns towards Oliver’s voice in shock, “Did Donna send you? Are you the new boyfriend?”  
  
Oliver doesn’t bother to respond. He just attack, swiftly incapacitating Willard with a bow to head and catching the child in his arms as Willard releases her. _She’s not breathing!_  
  
Oliver uncovers his face and promptly gives the little girl first aid treatment — chest pumps and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, whilst keeping an eye out for Willard who had lain unconscious near them. The little girl chokes on her own breath, and Oliver pats her back, holding her close to soothe her, “Ssh, ssh, you’re safe, little one.”  
  
She finally calms down enough to open her eyes and look at him. She has the biggest, bluest eyes ever, Oliver thinks. She stares at him nervously at first, then she pats his stubbled cheeks and smiles, “Angel?”   
  
Oliver snorts out a laugh, which makes her giggle.  
  
 _That giggle, those eyes, that face, that smile_ , Oliver realises in shock. _It’s—_  
  
"Felicity!" a female voice calls out from the front door, "Let go of my daughter!"  
  
Still unable to regain his bearings, Oliver forgets Zatanna’s instructions to keep himself hidden, and turns around to face the woman.  
  
"I’m not here to harm her," he says in a quiet voice.  
  
The woman, Felicity’s mom, Donna Smoak, finally notices Willard’s unconscious form. She starts sobbing into her hands, “I didn’t know he would do this to my daughter. He’s mentally disturbed. Was obsessed. Couldn’t handle me breaking up with him. He could have killed her! I didn’t know! I didn’t!”  
  
"Mommy, stop crying," a three-year old Felicity whispers, burrowing her face in Oliver’s neck, "Angel is here, Mommy. Stop crying."  
  
Keeping a firm grip on Felicity, Oliver works to tie Willard up while Donna sobs near the front door.  
  
"We have to go," Oliver says, "Before he wakes up."  
  
Without waiting for her, he exits the shack. He covers his face with the ski mask once he notices that Felicity has dozed off in his arms.  
  
It is only when they reach a more populated area, three blocks away from the shack and Eli Willard, does Oliver address Felicity’s mother, “Here’s a pay phone. Call the cops.”  
  
Once he’s assured that the cops are on their way, he says, “Will you be able to take care of her? Or do I need to call Child Services?”  
  
"Who are you?" Donna asks, "Why did you come through for us?"  
  
"I will always come through for Felicity, Mrs. Smoak," Oliver breathes, "Always. Now, answer my question."  
  
"I’ll take care of her," she promises, "I’ll never neglect her again."  
  
"I’ll hold you to that," Oliver states.   
  
Reluctantly, he hands a sleeping Felicity to her mother’s waiting arms. He walks away but hides somewhere close by until a cab comes to pick Felicity and her mom up.  
  
He takes the Time Orb from his cargo pants pocket and throws into the ground. As he steps into the light it emits, he thinks, _crucial to my crusade, indeed._   
  
_Crucial to my life and happiness, more like it._   
  
———————————————  
  
 _Twenty-four years and one month later._  
  
As soon as Felicity steps into Big Belly Burger with her mother, she spots Oliver and Digg in their usual booth.   
  
Donna Smoak had shown up unannounced at Felicity’s door. She told her daughter that she needed some time away from Vegas, just a few days. Felicity, well-versed in Donna Smoak, knows it had something to do with another failed relationship. So she takes her mother for some much-needed pampering at a salon and spa, treating themselves to the works (facials, massages, mani-pedis, body scrubs). Now they’re rewarding themselves with milkshakes and Big Belly Burgers (Kosher edition, of course, because Felicity would never let her mother know that she had developed an addiction for bacon).   
  
Felicity was not expecting to see Oliver and Digg at the diner today. As far as she knew, they each had plans for this Saturday afternoon. Digg was spending some Daddy Time with Lyla and their daughter, Angela. Oliver was supposed be spending some Big Bro Time with Thea, taking further steps to their recovering the sibling bond that has been challenged by recent events, secrets and Malcolm Merlyn.  
  
"Aren’t you two supposed to be elsewhere today? Spending time with your family?" Felicity asks as she approached them.  
  
"Felicity!" Digg exclaims, waving at her, "Lyla and Angela are in Mommy-Baby Yoga right now. I’ll meet up with them in thirty minutes."  
  
Oliver stands up from his booth seat to step closer to her and give her a quick hug, “Hey.”  
  
"Where’s Thea, Oliver?"  
  
"Roy invited her to hang out with him and Sin," Oliver shrugs, "Between brother and ex-boyfriend turned potential new boyfriend, I guess, we know who wins."  
  
"Aww, don’t be like that, Oliver," Felicity smiles, patting his chest in comfort, "I’m sure she’ll spend time with you tomorrow."  
  
Oliver responds by tucking a strand of her hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail behind her ear, smiling.  
  
Oliver had been acting … strange … weird … definitely odd … this past month. She had known for a long time now that Oliver cared for her. But lately, this past month, he had been more expressive of that fact. Always looking at her with fondness. Doing thoughtful things for her like making sure she had lunch, bringing her ice cream on random evenings, massaging her shoulders whenever she spent more than two hours sitting in her lair chair. Pecks on the cheek and forehead had become more frequent. So have hugs. So have shoulder and arm stroking. So have calls to check on her and talk about non-work stuff. If she didn’t know better, it felt a bit like he was wooing her or something silly like that.  
  
"Are you not going to introduce me to your friends, Felicity?" Donna asks, interrupting whatever it was Oliver and Felicity were doing with their eyes on each other.  
  
"Oh! Mom! Yes, sorry," Felicity starts, "Donna Smoak, John Diggle and Oliver Queen. Digg, Oliver, this is my mom, Donna Smoak."  
  
Digg stands up from the booth to extend his hand to her mom, “Mrs. Smoak, glad to meet you. Felicity didn’t mention that you were in town.”  
  
"It’s a surprise visit, Mr. Diggle," Donna says, flirtatiously as she shakes his hands. _What a fine young man,_ she thinks.   
  
Felicity could feel Oliver tensing against her hand on his chest. He turns towards her mother, “Mrs. Smoak, pleased to meet you.”  
  
Donna’s eyes widen upon seeing Oliver,  she stutters, “No! It can’t be…”  
  
Oliver clenches his jaw and remains silent, shaking his head at her mother.  
  
"Mom? What’s going on?" Felicity asks, looking from Oliver to her mom and back. She looks to Digg for assurance but Digg merely shrugs at her as confused as she is.  
  
"Oliver?" Felicity continues, "What—"  
  
"I think your mother has mistaken me for someone else, Felicity," Oliver responds, bringing his right hand back on Felicity’s shoulder, squeezing it in assurance.  
  
"Of course," Donna responds, finally coming to her wits, "Mr. Queen looks very familiar. Maybe he has one of those faces, you know. Common and almost always mistaken for someone else."  
  
Felicity snorts, “Oliver does not have that kind of face, mom. What a weird thing to say…”  
  
Once their orders were taken, Felicity turns to her mother, who had been casting disbelieving looks at Oliver, “What’s going on, mom? Oliver? And don’t tell me—”  
  
"Nothing," Oliver interrupts, his hand still on her shoulder.  
  
"It’s not nothing, Oliver!" she whisper-shouts, not wanting to call attention to them, "Tell me what’s going on, Oliver? You know, how I am with mysteries!"  
  
Oliver leans closer to her and whispers, “Zatanna.”  
  
She looks him in the eyes. _Zatanna. That mysterious thing she had you do a month ago?_  
  
He nods. _Later._   
  
She nods. _All right._   
  
Donna is looking at the two of them from across the booth with confusion. Digg is leaning back against the booth chair he was sharing with Donna with a smirk on his face.   
  
"Felicity," Donna starts to explain, "Do you remember Eli Willard?"  
  
Felicity tenses up and clutches Oliver’s knee, “Yes. What about him?”  
  
Donna observes Oliver stroking Felicity’s earlobe in act of comfort before answering, “You were rescued by a man who reminds me of Mr. Queen—”  
  
"Oliver, please," he interrupts, bringing Felicity a little bit closer to him.  
  
"Oliver, then," Donna continues, "The man who rescued you looked like Oliver. But how could that be? Maybe I’m remembering things wrong, that was a traumatic evening after all."  
  
Forgotten images from the night bombard Felicity mind at her mother’s remembrance. _Oh. My. God._  
  
"Angel!" she blurts out.  
  
"Yes, you called him Angel," her mother nods.  
  
Felicity turns towards Oliver in awe. _Angel?_  
  
He nods.  
  
She smiles.  
  
Then turns to her mom, “There’s no way that’s Oliver, mom.”  
  
"I know. I apologise for acting so strangely, Oliver," Donna says.  
  
"No worries, Mrs. Smoak. Like you said, I have one of those faces," he nods and smiles at her.  
  
Felicity squeezes Oliver’s knees. _Angel._

**Author's Note:**

> Original post: http://outoftheclosetshipper.tumblr.com/post/95630909118/zatana-sends-oliver-back-in-time-and-he-ends-up


End file.
